Minter tapped to head Vermont’s Climate Superfund project

November 6, 2025  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Sue Minter will serve as the states Climate Superfund Specialist. Photo courtesy of Capstone Community Action

Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak on Thursday announced that Sue Minter of Waterbury has been tapped to serve in a state government role of Climate Superfund Specialist. 

A former state representative and Transportation Secretary, Minter served as the state’s Chief Recovery Officer following Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. 

“Sue brings an unparalleled combination of experience in disaster recovery, community leadership, and climate resilience,” Pieciak said in announcing the hire. “Climate disasters are a dangerous and expensive problem. Sue’s leadership will help ensure that the cost assessment for Vermont’s Climate Superfund is carefully and thoughtfully developed, so we can make our communities stronger, safer, and more affordable.” 

Minter is well-acquainted with the statewide impacts of climate disasters in her previous state government roles and most recently as executive director of Capstone Community Action in Barre which was heavily hit by flooding in 2023 and 2024. Minter led Capstone from 2018 to 2024.

Pieciak also announced the selection of a consultant to assist with cost assessments under the Vermont Climate Superfund Act.  Industrial Economics Inc., a firm with expertise in climate change impacts and adaptation assessment, was chosen through a competitive bidding process. 

“Vermonters continue to experience flood, drought and extreme heat, and are developing plans not only to recover, but to rebuild with resilience,” Minter said. “The cost assessment will not only provide important information to the state about its climate change costs, but also support recovery of those costs to ensure Vermont can adapt and reduce future harms from the changing climate.”   

Vermont Climate Superfund law (Act 122) was passed in 2024 by the state legislature. It tasked the treasurer’s office with developing a cost assessment of Vermont’s climate change impacts from certain greenhouse gas emissions. The law requires large fossil fuel companies to pay their proportional share of Vermont’s climate change adaptation costs, such as those from severe flooding, extreme heat and drought.  

Act 122 also enables the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to issue “cost recovery demands” to the responsible parties. The agency’s Climate Action office and the state treasurer’s office will oversee the development of the cost assessment, which will be used to determine financial recovery demands.  

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Industrial Economics Inc. has assembled a consulting team for this project, including experts with experience in quantifying climate change costs and determining local impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, the treasurer’s office said. 

Following a timeline set forth by Act 122, the firm will begin its work this month and is charged with producing the cost assessment by January 2027.